South Bay Bathing Pool (former)

The Scarborough Star map was once the South bay pool in use from July 1915 to 4th September 1988. Also closed in 1981 for refurbishment. The South Bay Pool cost the Council £6,000 to build when it was opened by the Mayor Mr. Christopher & Mayoress Maisie Graham in July 1915 at the height of the First World War, buildings cost another £8,000 and new garden pathways would be developed at a cost of £4,500. The pool, which was then dubbed the most modern in Europe, soon developed into a major attraction. The 330 ft by 165 ft pool hosted major swimming events, aqua shows and diving displays from the 32 ft high diving board however this was at the mercy of the weather. Pool depths ranged from 18 inches in the fountain pools & 3 ft to 6 ft in the main pool. The diving pit was 15 ft deep. Seawater was gravity fed into the pool from pipes surrounding the outer pool wall. The water was then filtered and chlorinated at a rate of 140,000 gallons per hour. The pool contained almost 2 million gallons of seawater. During the seventies and eighties the pool opened from May to September each year. In the hot summer of 1976 there were record attendances of 60,000 bathers. The only form of heating was from the sun although the pool temperature was at least 5 c warmer than sea. The typical water temperature ranged between 15 c & 25 c depending on the weather, ideal for cooling off after sunbathing.

Nice area that doesn't have a lot of people, the wide low wall good for sitting on. There's a nice little beach just south of it that was brilliant for the dog to run around, though the sand is a bit rougher there.

The most prominent feature recently added to South Cliff Gardens is the star map or astrolabe. It is the largest of its kind in the UK, at 26 metres in diameter, and may even be the largest in Europe. The disk contains 42 fibre optic terminals, each representing one of the 42 brightest circumpolar stars (stars that never set) visible from Scarborough. The North Star is almost at the centre of the map, and it can be used to identify a number of famous star patterns, including the Big Dipper, also known as the Plough. Capella, the she-goat in the arms of Auriga, is the brightest star visible on the disk and the sixth brightest star in the night sky. The map also has sunrise points indicating the exact dates the sun will rise over the North Sea, and these dates are displayed on the nearby Inner Wave Wall Seat. There are information boards to help visitors use the map, and there is a viewing point below the green on the Esplanade where visitors can also enjoy wonderful views of Scarborough South Beach, as well as the lighthouse and castle. The original use of the site is also of historical significance as it was the site of the first large tidal bathing pool in the UK and the largest in Europe, measuring 330 feet long and 167 feet wide. It was built in an Art Deco style and filled with fresh seawater brought in by the tides. The tidal pool was the brainchild of the famous Scarborough Borough engineer Harry W Smith, who also designed our beautiful Italian Gardens. It is believed that Smith was inspired by a journey to a similar site in Guernsey. Construction began during the First World War and the town’s development was threatened when it was bombed by two German battleships on 16 December 1914. Tragically 17 men died while the workers were at the tidal pool, but those on the tidal pool were saved as they were able to find shelter behind the half-finished wall they were building! Smith’s plans for the pool were ambitious and included features never seen before in Scarborough, such as changing facilities, a diving board and a water slide, the pool was also designed to form part of the town’s sea defences. The development was also part of a larger initiative on the south side of town to emulate the success of North Bay improvements, such as the introduction of beach huts, which boosted tourism in the area. Many of these new features can still be seen in the gardens today, such as the popular Clock Café, additional cliff paths, and the aforementioned Italian Garden. The tidal pool opened in 1915, but all work was not completed until the following year. According to the 1930 Scarborough and District Red Guide, a swimming ticket cost 6d. The pool proved popular not only with swimmers but also with spectators of regular competitions and water shows, so in 1934 the seating provision and facilities were upgraded. A 32-foot diving board was also installed that year, which later led to Scarborough hosting the 1948 Olympic diving preliminaries. The pool remained popular with locals and visitors for decades, but fell out of fashion as swimmers turned to the relative luxury of heated indoor facilities. Visitor numbers declined, the pool fell into disrepair, and was finally closed for good in 1989.